God? No, Dog
by spitfire00
Summary: Edward Elric and Winry Rockbell have had three children. Roy appreciates their visiting far more than he would have expected to. A series of Oneshots involving the Elric family and the Mustang family.


The Elric children are perhaps one of the most readily providing source of purity in his life. Leading the military and building the democracy of Amestris is rewarding and fulfilling in every way he had expected, but it came with its challenges and humanity-shaking moments that made sleep difficult and mornings hard. There were always people who cared more about power, money, recognition, or tradition than they did right and wrong, and they always proved so in their efforts to stall their progress towards a more loyal state and people's government.

The lies that Roy had to dig through and the rumors that made keeping up a good image with the people difficult made his life exhausting in unpredictable ways. He would never give it up, and he was content with the forward movement they were achieving, but that didn't mean he wasn't endlessly frustrated with those who sought to ruin everything he had fought tooth and nail for.

That's were the Elrics came in.

Edward and Winry had three children, their eldest being a son and two beautiful daughters following behind. They were wild and rowdy, clever and undeniably sweet. They were young and knew little of any horror that the world was tainted with. They accepted things as they were and wanted nothing more than the love of their parents and to run around like manics until someone stopped them. They wanted to learn and show off and they wanted to swim in that fountain, but they did not know of pride or betrayal, connotations or double meanings. They knew of no blackmail or scandals, elections or decrees. They were the purest thing that existed in Roy Mustang's life, and he made sure to leave time for them, if nothing else but to keep himself from losing himself in the aspersion of his work.

He wanted children, and so did Riza, but now was certainly not the time. They were not getting any younger, but they still had time before it was too late, and they needed to get over the dangerous hump of Roy's career before they could give into their own wants and needs. There was too much to be done that came before their own damned souls, and they had agreed on that years ago.

But the Elrics had not agreed to that at all. Edward had told them they were being stupid with his usual brashness before stubbornly announcing that if they were going to be so ridiculous then they would have to put up with his family until they created one of their own.

And so began the integration of of the Elric's into their lives.

Roy was torn out of his thoughts when the youngest came barreling into him, a mass of sweaty golden hair and sticky fingers squatting down in preparation to jump, and he only had a millisecond to process what she was doing before she's launched herself into the air, and he has to catch her or risk her falling and smacking her head on the table. Instinct has him scooping her out of the air and hiking her up onto his hip before any other conscious thought has a chance to catch up, and when he finally looks to her he finds that she's smashed her tiny face against his shoulder in an effort to appear shy. She's squirming too much for him to believe her, and sure enough a second later she twists away from his shoulder to look back out over the room, golden eyes bright and full of mirth. He goes to tickle her tummy, and she's screeching with laughter before his fingers even make contact with her t-shirt. Edward had managed to wrestle her wild hair into a ponytail, but the bow he'd completed the look with was long gone, and the hair around her face was too short and wispy to be contained, instead floating up towards the ceiling or stuck to her face with sweat.

Less than a minute after launching herself into his arms, she's wiggling to be released back onto the floor of his living room where her sister was standing over Black Hayate, and when he sets her down she's off like a cannon, stumbling into the kitchen where her father was filling up their sippy cups with water.

Roy blinks after her before settling himself down onto the floor with Rae, who looks at him for only a moment before returning her attention back to the dog. At nearly three years old, Rae was just as fiery as her older brother, but had not quite mastered any emotion other than fiercely curious. She stood ramrod straight, tiny lips pulled into a frown as she regarded Hawkeye's dog with a facial expression that Roy could not even begin to decypher.

"He won't bite." Roy promises, hand reaching out towards the dog and petting his head gently while Rae watched. He wonders if she is afraid or hesitant, but she gives no indication of having heard him other than to glance at him briefly before looking back to the dog.

"God?" She asks suddenly. Roy blinks.

"Uh..."

"God!"

"Dog." Edward corrects as he enters the room, baby on one hip and cups in the other hand. He sets them on the coffee table and tries to set down his youngest, who clings to him like a damn koala, prompting him to give in and leave her be in his arm. "Dog."

"Dog." She repeats.

"Yes."

"Den?"

"No. That's not Den. It is a dog though." Edward hands her a cup. "That dog's name is Black Hayate."

She's too busy drinking to continue the conversation, and Roy is glad that Edward understood where her young mind had gone, because he wasn't sure he would have figured that one out. Rae hands Roy her cup without looking at him, simply expecting him to be there. Her interest in the dog had run its course and now she looked about for something else to hold her curiosity, eventually wandering off behind the couches.

"So, did General West ever show up to Eastern Command?" Edward drew his attention. Roy huffed.

"Oh he did alright. He knew better than to test me right after that attack on the Springfield Supply Houses. I'm not sure what to do with him right now though. I've kept him busy with paperwork for the meantime, but I'll have to decide eventually."

Edward's laugh is genuine, if snarky. "I didn't think he'd have the balls to show." Roy couldn't help his smirk. Edward was twenty five and one of the most renowned alchemists in the country, but not even children or responsibility had tamed his brash tongue. "Put him in the boonies."

"Edward, may I remind you that you live in the boonies?"

"Put him in different boonies- Rae! Hey! I see you- get off those stairs. Uh huh. Yeah. Away from the stairs." Roy peered over the couch, and sure enough, a mop of blonde hair is lingering by the stairs that led up to the bedrooms. After a moment Rae looked over at them sullenly, a look that is so absolutely Edward that it makes Roy do a double take.

A sudden weight drops into his lap and he realizes that baby Ida had decided to interact with him once more, limbs wiggling and flying as she tried to get comfortable or maybe just in an effort to smack him in the face. She settles eventually, still vibrating slightly but now interested in the lapels on his military jacket. They had surprised him upon coming home, and he hadn't had time to change into his civies. Good thing though, because Ida was content to to pluck at his medals and tug on his stars. Her golden eyes were bright and her lashes were just as light as her hair. Her cheeks held a roundness that he could remember once clung to Edward's cheeks for a few years before he had sprouted up with age and all his baby fat melted away to lean muscle and broad shoulders. Her chin was stained with what looked to be tomato soup from lunch that also lingered on her orange shirt.

He sees Edward pounce up from his spot on the carpet and valt the couch. He appeared a moment later with three year old Rae trapped in his arms. He lifted her off the stairs where she had been doing the opposite of what she had been told and over his head to shake her gently until she squealed. He held over his shoulder upside down with the strength from years and years of physical training and altercations as if she weighed absolutely nothing at all.

Rae laughed and kicked her legs, nearly nailing Edward in the head though he didn't seem to mind. The sound of the door opening did nothing to quell her excitement at being held upside down. Through his front door emerged Alphonse and Cleo, bounding through the door in a flurry of movement. Despite being Edward and Winry's son, Cleo more closely resembled Alphonse than he did his parents. His eyes were tinted gray and his hair was far darker than his siblings. The top of his head was barely high enough for him to peer over tables, and his small stout legs carried him across the threshold into the kitchen at a gallop. Alphonse followed with a grin, pausing to reach down and ruffle Ida's hair as he passed.

"How was the market?" Edward asked as he placed Rae on the floor and trailed after his brother. Mustang soon joined them as well as the girls filed onto the tiled floor, socked feet slipping and sliding as they tried to see what the boys had brought back. They unloaded their shopping bags, revealing fruits, baking mixes, icing, chicken, rice, among other things for dinner.

"It was very busy. I suspect that Winry and Ms. Riza won't be back for awhile longer. The line into the bakery was worse."

Cleo volunteered to take the bags out to the trash for them, practically ripping the bags from the counter, which had Edward squinting after his turned back as the kid ran to the door.

"What's wrong Brother?"

"Him. He's being too helpful." Edward watched the door Cleo had disappeared into, and Roy couldn't help but snort.

"Isn't that a good thing? He wants to help out."

"For any other kid maybe, but not Cleo. He's up to something." Ida reached for her father who picked her up instinctively while Rae attempted to climb onto the stool chair besides the counter. Alphonse lifted her up before she had a chance to topple the entire thing over and Edward put his flesh hand over the sharp corner of the counter so she couldn't hit her head accidently.

Roy can't help but muse over the easy interactions occurring within his kitchen. Edward Elric was one of the most reckless and cheeky bastards he had ever met. He threw himself into danger with expected excitement and challenged the general population to tell him off. He had one of the meanest and ruthless fighting strategies of anyone at Central Command and he dared criminals to pick up their game when he faced off with them. He had witnessed the Gate of Truth too many times to remain totally sane, and yet he had a sense of right and wrong so fierce that it made his heart ache when he saw injustice.

He had lost his mother and father as a child and witnessed some of the most horrific traumas before he had even turned sixteen. He had clung to his remaining family with an iron fist and fought for his brother's happiness with more gusto than he had fought for his own survival. He had faced humiliation and scrutiny for his decision to serve the state, and he had done so with a stiff upper lip to keep his brother from worrying.

Roy had seen this boy missing two limbs and slumped lifelessly in a wheelchair. He had seen this boy hidden in the rain with blood still on his split knuckles from when he had beaten in Tucker's face. He had seen Edward laying in a dirty puddle in the middle of a street, a murderers hand inches from ending his life while Edward let it happen. He had seen this boy tell off superiors no matter the consequences, simply to defend what he believed was right. He'd watched Edward bring back Alphonse's body, marry the love of his life, and start his own family. He'd seen this boy grow and mature, change and progress. He'd met him as a broken eleven year old child, and followed him until Edward was a bold man.

He'd seen Edward at his lowest, and pushed and taunted him until he had clawed his way into the proud man he was always meant to be.

Watching Edward in his kitchen, youngest baby in his arms while he teased his brother and eventually hunted down his son, Roy knew that Edward Elric had reached one of the highest points of his life, and Roy had the honor of witnessing it.


End file.
